


dancing in the dark (with you between my arms)

by stonestars



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Like, M/M, pure fuckin fluff y'all
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-28
Updated: 2018-04-28
Packaged: 2019-04-29 05:17:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14465847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stonestars/pseuds/stonestars
Summary: “May I have this dance?”--Kravitz laughs, just a tiny whisper of one, and pulls Taako closer.Neither of them have to say another word.





	dancing in the dark (with you between my arms)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [madelinescribbles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/madelinescribbles/gifts).



> This is a birthday gift (a day early) for the wonderful wonderful Madeline. Mads you're such a gift and I love talking to you. I believe in you to get through anything and everything the world throws at you and I hope this lifts your spirits a bit. 
> 
> Also it's *literally* pure fluff y'all. The only time i write fluff seems to be birthdays. I don't know if this says more about me or about my friends.

Taako watches Lup and Barry slow dance, and he’s happy for them.

Lup, in her wedding dress, red this time, looks just as beautiful as Taako remembers.

 

_He remembers their first wedding, during the cycles._

_It was a quiet ceremony on an uninhabited planet-- with no church to speak of, Magnus built an arch that they placed at the edge of the woods and they laid out all the carpets they could find on the Starblaster to make an isle._

_Lup walked down it in a white dress that Taako whipped up out of a sheet and some lace and old clothes, and Barry waited for her at the end in Magnus’s suit jacket that was too big for him and with his best pair of bluejeans on, a smile on his face that Taako would never be able to wipe from his mind._

 

It’s been months since Lup had told him that this ceremony was happening.

 

_“Hey, ‘Ko?” Lup asked, coming up behind him, her footsteps still a little bit clumsy from getting her body back._

_“Yeah, Lulu?” Taako responded, off-handedly, whipping around the kitchen to find the utensil he needed. He was cooking dinner, Lup was over early. Kravitz and Barry had disappeared shortly after the three of them had come home._

_“Barry and I… we’re thinking about getting married again.”_

_Taako froze, just a little. He wasn’t sure why, but it came as a shock to him. “Really, Lu?” Taako asked, going back to stirring the pot he needed to stir. “The first one wasn’t enough for you?”_

_“No it was…” Lup smiled at the memory. “It was a lovely wedding the first time, ‘ko. I just mean… well, here we can do it with all the extra bits. The big extended family. The elaborate catering. There was so much we couldn’t do, back then, and we wanted to… to get that, again.”_

_Taako smiled too. “Okay, and you’re telling me ‘cause you want me to cater it, right?”_

_Lup punched his shoulder, laughing. “Of course, ‘ko, but I’m also telling you because I want you to be up there beside me when I do it. Be my maid of honor. My best man. Whatever you want to call it.”_

_Taako punched her right back. “Sure, Lu. I’d be offended if you asked anyone else.”_  

 

Now, with the ceremony all over, Taako has found himself standing off to one side of the reception hall, on his own, as the song shifts into another slow dance.

Kravitz was one of Barry’s groomsmen, but he’d had to leave after the wedding on a job. With a sigh, Taako shifts against the pillar he’s leaning on. He hates the way loneliness is tugging at his chest, a loneliness he won’t admit to anyone.

At Lup and Barry’s first wedding, Taako, Magnus, and Lucretia had awkwardly slow-danced as a trio, laughing as they practically knocked Merle and Davenport over while they tried to give newlyweds a wide berth as to not ruin their moment. He remembers Magnus’s laughter, the way he was practically lifting _both_ Taako and Lucretia off the ground, and the serene smile on Lucretia’s face as Magnus dragged them along.

Today, Taako watches as Angus, Mavis, and Mookie laugh and dance together, watches the number of couples who have joined Lup and Barry on the dance floor. (As Taako watches them, Carey and Killian easily breeze past Davenport and Merle, still dancing together after all these years.) He sees Magnus and Avi sharing drinks off to one side of the dance floor, and he doesn’t want to disturb them.

He sees Lucretia, leaning against a pillar on the other side of the hall, a large glass of wine in her hand.

Like hell he’s dancing with _her._

_No_ , he thinks, _Taako’s good over here._

Deep down, he wishes Kravitz hadn’t had to leave. Taako doesn’t fault him, of course, he knew Kravitz was busy, but--

“May I have this dance?”

Taako nearly falls over, his head shooting up to see Kravitz in front of him, his hand extended in an over-extravagant pose and a big smile on his face.

“K-Kravitz?” Taako stammers, his composure forgotten. “I thought you had work.”

“I _did_ ,” Kravitz says. “But who am I to leave someone so beautiful without someone to dance with.”

Taako laughs a little. “What, your job this time was too easy?” he teases, but he takes Kravitz’s hand.

Kravitz winks. “I have my ways,” he whispers, pulling Taako close and beginning to guide him to the dance floor with sweeping, deliberate steps.

It’s been a long time since he’s has slow danced, Taako realizes, as Kravitz seamlessly moves to the music. The last time would have to have been…

“We danced like this at Carey and Killian’s wedding too, huh?” Kravitz remarks.

Taako opens his eyes. He knows Kravitz can’t read his mind, but sometimes it feels like he knows more than he lets on.

He could come up with a retort, he really _should,_ but instead he just leans into Kravitz’s shoulder. “Yeah,” he says quietly.

“You looked beautiful then, too.”

Taako is glad that Kravitz can barely see his face. “Yeah, well, you didn’t look half bad yourself, Bones.”

Kravitz is silent for a long moment. The song begins to fade out, and Taako feels himself willing it not to. Kravitz has been especially busy, recently, in the lead-up to this wedding, and--

“If you look this beautiful at every wedding, I can’t imagine what you’ll look like at ours.”

Taako practically chokes. “O-ours?”

“I mean, yeah,” Kravitz says. “It… it’s natural, right? I want to spend… the rest of time with you, if I can…” he seems to hesitate. “Only if you want to, love.”

“Krav, I--” Taako takes a deep breath. “I don’t think about… about the future, too much. And sometimes I take my anger out on--”

“I know,” Kravitz responds. A new song begins to swell, a slightly faster paced dance. “I’ve always known that.” He pauses. “I don’t only love you for the person you pretend to be. I mean, I do, I love that side of you. But I love _you,_ Taako, and that means every part of you.”

If Taako wasn’t so good at moving in heels, he would’ve fallen over by now. He clutches the back of Kravitz’s suit tightly. He sees Lup, as they pass her, and she smiles knowingly at the blush on his face. He has to resist the urge to groan.

He realizes he’s left Kravitz in silence for too long. “Kravitz I…”

Kravitz spins him around, taking him a little by surprise. “You don’t have to answer now,” the reaper says gently. “I’ll wait, as long as you need. I know it’s not… as easy as I make it seem.”

Taako bites his lip. He wants to give Kravitz an answer, he wants to be sure.

But he can’t stop thinking about the century they lived where everyone else was dust, can’t fully trust that Kravitz really _will_ always be there. At least not yet.

So instead, he spins Kravitz around in an elaborate dance move, and winks. “Two can play at that game, bone boy.”

\--

Taako wishes he could say it takes him days. Or even weeks.

Instead, it’s almost two months before he makes his way slowly into their bedroom one evening, sees Kravitz lounging on the bed waiting for him, and knows.

He doesn’t say anything at first. Instead, he just crawls into bed slowly.

Kravitz rolls over to face him. He looks tired, but there’s a smile on his face. “How was your day?” Kravitz prompts gently.

Taako takes a deep breath. “I’m only going to say this once,” he says, putting a finger to Kravitz’s lips. “So you better listen up, okay?”

Kravitz nods, slowly, watching him intently.

“I-- I love you,” Taako says quietly. “I… want to spend my life with you and I’m not too sure what that means but… if you’re okay with figuring it out together…” he practically whispers the last word. He’s not sure why he’s doubting himself so much, he’s just--

“Are you saying yes, then?” Kravitz asks softly. “To the wedding?”  

He’s smiling as he watches Taako. It’s a knowing smile, but there’s no contempt in it. It’s just… full of love.

Taako rolls his eyes and buries his face in Kravitz’s chest. “Yeah,” he mutters.

Kravitz laughs, just a tiny whisper of one, and pulls Taako closer.

Neither of them have to say another word.


End file.
